Last night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead welcomed bassist Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company), the first of three shows that the bassist will sit-in with JRAD, as regular bassist Dave Dreiwitz continues his current run of dates with Ween. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead with Oteil Burbridge kicked things off last night in Philadelphia, the first show of a two-night run at the Tower Theatre. The final show of the short run with Burbridge will conclude this Sunday, October 20th, at The Anthem in Washington, DC.
With Joe Russo leading the way, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opened the first set with “Women Are Smarter”, before moving into a massive, unfinished “Shakedown Street”. Philly’s own Tom Hamilton tore through a fiery hot solo, before passing the heat to Scott Metzger, as the two behemoth guitar players continued upping the ante, feeding off of each other’s solos. “Brown Eyed Women” was next, as Russo and Burbridge locked-in the rhythm section, leaving ample room for Marco Benevento to sprinkle his extraordinary keyboard magic on the jam. An unfinished “Truckin” led way to “The Other One”, as Hamilton and Metzger continued to dazzle the crowd with their electrifying guitar work.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “Women Are Smarter” – 10/18/2018
[Video: Richard Stoler, Jr]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “Truckin” – 10/18/2018
[Video: Gregory Marcus]
Following a brief set break, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opened the second set with “Alligator”, taking the Grateful Dead tune deep. “Scarlet Begonias” followed in suit with an extended jam, before JRAD confidently placed “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” in the middle of the set. With Oteil Burbridge leading the way on vocals, “Fire On The Moutain” came next, before Joe Russo commanded the ship into “Dancing In The Streets”, which led to a set-closing “Row Jimmy”. After the band took a minute to fuel up and catch their breaths, they returned to the stage to encore Bob Dylan’s “Tough Mama”, last played October 7th, 2016, at the Brooklyn Bowl (84 show gap).
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “The Other One” – 10/18/2018
[Video: Richard Stoler, Jr]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead in partnership with nugs.tv will be back tonight with a webcast of the second show from Philadelphia, which will start around 8:45 pm ET. You can pre-order tonight’s show here.
Following this weekend, the core members of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will regroup to perform two sets at the Suwannee Hulaween pre-party on October 25th. Then, a few weeks later, Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Tom Hamilton, Dave Dreiwitz, and Scott Metzger will swing through California for two nights at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on November 8th and 9th and two nights at the Fox Theatre in Oakland on November 10th and 11th.
For more information and tickets to Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s fall tour dates, head to the band’s website.
Below, you can view a gallery of photos from last night’s Tower Theatre show via photographer Vic Brazen.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Tower Theatre | Philadelphia, PA | 10/18/2018
Set One: Women Are Smarter^-> Shakedown Street#-> Brown Eyed Women, Truckin#-> The Other One
Set Two: Alligator -> Jam -> Scarlet Begonias -> Jam -> Going Down The Road Feeling Bad* -> Fire On The Mountain %, Dancing In The Streets ^ -> Row Jimmy
Encore: Tough Mama &
Notes:
^ with a “Reveille” (Traditional) Tease (SM)
# unfinished
* without the usual instrumental We Bid You Goodnight ending
% Oteil sang on the choruses
^ with a “First Call” (Traditional) Tease (SM), a Burbridge bass solo, Throwing Stones Teases (JR & TH), Ended with a short We Bid You Goodnight Jam
& Bob Dylan cover, last played 10/7/16 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY (84 show gap)
